The post, on its Weibo chat site, explained that it must localise its information to comply with China’s cyber security laws. Tesla will continue to develop data centres in the country in order to store all Chinese data domestically.
Concerns have been raised regarding the external cameras on Tesla vehicles which, Chinese authorities fear, could collect sensitive information and send it back to the USA. According to Bloomberg there are reports that Teslas have been banned from government sites and military compounds. Elon Musk has strongly refuted these concerns saying that, if true, they would spell the end of Tesla’s future in China and citing the strong incentives to keep operating in the country which accounts for 30% of its global car sales (Reuters).
